The current mental health statistics in Australia suggest how rapidly we need change:

• According to Beyond Blue, around 1 million Australians have depression and 2 million have anxiety in any given year – this is a big worry.
• The risk for Australian adults developing a mental illness in any given 12 months has been stated as being 1 in 5 for at least the last decade.
• 1 in 6 Australians are at risk of anxiety at some point in their lives.
• 85% of those with clinical depression have significant anxiety and 90% of those with anxiety are also depressed.
• Every day an average of 8 Australians will take their own lives, 6 will be men.
• Suicide is the leading cause of death for those aged 25 to 44.

The statistics are scary, and especially for the younger generation.

• The 2017 Youth Mental Health Report by Mission Australia and the Black Dog Institute confirmed mental illness to be a growing challenge with 1 in 4 young people aged 15-19 are at risk of serious mental illness.
• 1 in 6 Australians aged 16 to 24 years have experienced an anxiety disorder over the last 12 months.
• A report by the Pew Research Centre published in The Economist found 70% of respondents in Generation Z (i.e. born after 1997) reported anxiety and depression was a major issue for them along with bullying and exam pressures.
• A survey from Headspace reported close to 70% of those surveyed as saying their mental health was poor or fair with 2/3 reporting high or very high psychological distress over the previous 12 months.
• Suicide is the second leading cause of death for those aged 15 to 24.

Mental illness doesn’t discriminate – it can affect anyone.

Mental Health

Mental Health at Work

These rising levels of anxiety and depression have an estimated economic cost of US$1 trillion p.a. to the global economy. In the workplace, depression alone costs the Australian economy over $12.3 billion each year, with absenteeism and presenteeism sitting at about $79 billion p.a. according to AIG. 

That’s a heck of a price to be paying for poor mental health and unhappiness.

A recent study that examined the mental health of corporate Australia revealed the prevalence to be far greater with one in three experiencing some form of mental illness broken down to

• 36% having depression
• 33% anxiety
• 31% stress 

21% or one in five adult Australians have taken time off work in the last 12 months due to feeling stressed, depressed or mentally unhealthy, with the risk being twice as high in those workplaces deemed mentally unhealthy.

At work, poor mental health is limiting productivity, efficiency and potential, and is stifling creativity. Did you know that intense emotion is contagious? Meaning anxiety can spread through a team or office faster than you can say, “bless you” after a sneeze. 

This is why mental wellbeing is one essential component of organisational health.

According to a study from the University of Toronto, the effect of workplace anxiety on performance is closely connected to the quality of relationships between bosses, co-workers and employees. This should come as no surprise. If you are working in a stressful environment but have an empathetic manager or supervisor, it is far easier to deal with a level of emotional exhaustion. A workplace culture that builds strong social networks is one that will help allay fears and worry. 

A high-performance workplace achieves success; growth and prosperity, by ensuring all members of the business or organisation enjoy the combination of physical, mental and cognitive health.

What if every workplace had in place a protocol to ensure that every employee had the necessary strategies to keep stress and anxiety at manageable levels? What impact could that have on their level of productivity and performance?

Develop Compassion and Empathy

We can restore our mental health by re-humanising the workplace and our relationships with others.

Compassion and empathy allow us to understand what might be going on for someone else. It makes us kinder, more tolerant and resistant to the black tentacles of envy, distrust and fear. Practising compassion might sound a little weird but has been shown to boost happiness and wellbeing in ourselves and in those with whom we share our lives.

Look for Clues in Others

Realise if someone might not be themselves and are putting on a brave front by noticing that change in their behaviour and performance: are they are more disengaged from colleagues? Do they appear tired all the time? Do they never smile or look sad?

We are all busy and often get caught up in our agendas – but all it takes is a few seconds to notice other people around us. How are they today?

Listen

Being listened to with genuine attention and compassion goes a long way in the journey to restore mental health and wellbeing.

RUOK? – Start a Conversation

Start a conversation with open-ended questions and ask how they are. It’s important to give the space needed to avoid being fobbed off with the “I’m fine” routine and a fake Mona Lisa smile.

Around 95% of serotonin (your happiness hormone) is produced in the gut by the biome: the trillions of bacteria that inhabit our gut and are in direct communication with the brain.

Eating foods that are high in fibre such as oats, peas and legumes, beans, and peas feed the good bacteria in the gut, slow down the absorption of sugar and boost serotonin levels.

Thirty minutes of aerobic exercise to get you sweaty and puffed is a great way to elevate mood and keep you in a more positive frame of mind. Exercise can help to burn off those stress hormones that can lead us down the slippery path to anxiety and depression.

It can be hard to find that motivation to exercise when feeling low. The good news is that even a small amount of activity will lead to a positive effect. Even a short burst of physical activity for 10 minutes has been shown to reduce stress levels, boost the immune system and lower inflammation, improve your mood and yes, it aids sleep too.

Find an activity you’re willing to do, that you will hopefully find enjoyable – walking is ideal as a start, schedule it to happen, find an accountability buddy if necessary.

Speak to your GP to discuss which strategy would be most helpful to your situation. Seeing a psychologist to learn some relaxation techniques and strategies to build resilience can be life changing. A life without anxiety or depression is so much more enjoyable than enduring a life with it.

Finding clarity helps you to identify what needs to happen next. It improves how you interpret and understand what is being asked of you.

This is where having a workplace buddy, a trusted friend or confidante can help you to challenge those negative and self-limited beliefs, reconnect you with your strengths and keep things in perspective.

Mindfulness has also been shown to influence our telomeres, the shoelace caps on the end of our chromosomes. The longer our telomeres last, the longer we live, plus mindfulness has been shown to influence gene expression determining our physical and mental wellbeing.

Whether you undertake a formal mindful meditation practice, choose to breathe, or practice paying attention to the here and now, mindfulness is about reducing our noisy mind chatter that’s constantly directing us to our future plans or past concerns.

This is hard when all you see are your flaws and imperfections. But learning to accept and even get to like all those jiggly bits is the way towards self-compassion and feeling that no matter what, we are always “enough.”

When times are tough, it’s those we care about, who love us that can make the biggest difference. Nurturing positive relationships is THE most effective way to build greater resilience to stress and anxiety.

Being with and talking with others helps us to retain that sense of normality, of appreciating the good things in our lives and the beauty around us that we otherwise find hard to keep sight of. Knowing that you are not alone and that many others have experience of what you are going through to makes it easier to believe you can get through this and find your way forward.

Even taking some time out in a green space for 10-15 minutes every day – even if it’s out of the window has been shown to reduce stress and elevate mood. Whether you work indoors or spend a lot of time outside, greenery has been shown to be essential for mental wellbeing, which is why attending to our working and living environment can make a positive difference to our thoughts, mood and behaviour. 

If you need a longer break, one study showed how six days away will boost mood and elevate well-being for up to a month afterwards.

So, what are you waiting for? With only 31% of Australians taking all their holiday leave each year, that’s a lot of missed opportunity to do something positive for yourself.